Winter conference

The Mahoning and Columbiana Training Association’s Youth Development Training Center 12th Annual Winter Conference will be at The Georgetown banquet facility at 5945 South Ave. at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The presenter is Ketuan Baldwin, systems project manager for First National Bank and a 2001 graduate of Chaney High School. Everyone attending the conference will donate a new, unwrapped toy or a household item for needy families at Beatitude House.

Thirty-six former workers at General Electric Ohio Lamp in Warren are eligible to apply for worker adjustment assistance through the U.S. Department of Labor, according to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.

In October, Brown wrote to labor Secretary Hilda Solis requesting the approval of the Trade Adjustment Act petition application filed on behalf of workers at the Warren plant.

The Trade Adjustment Assistance program is a federal program that provides aid to workers who lose their jobs or whose work hours and wages are reduced as a result of increased imports. The program extends benefits including training for employment in another job or career, income support, job-search allowances and relocation allowances.

IBM 401(k) change

IBM is making changes to its employee benefits that may cause other large corporations to follow suit. The technology company will begin making contributions to employees’ 401(k) accounts in lump-sum annual payments, rather than at the time of each paycheck. It’s a move that will help the company cut retirement-plan expenses.

Employees were notified this week that matching contributions will be made just once annually, on Dec. 31, beginning next year.

The end-of-the-year 401(k) match won’t be unique to IBM, but experts say the company’s move could lead other major employers to consider making less- frequent contributions.